In The Dark

I have decided that when it is dark, animals of all species enjoy order and routine more than at any other time. Well before dawn, as Chris is just thinking of getting out of bed, the house animals slumber and rest. On the kitchen sofa, Mabel will have her head jammed tightly behind her own green pillow as she snores like a train and in the living room William is stretched out on his own sofa, gently woofing in his sleep. Between us in bed, lies Meg who couldn't quite cope with not being in the direct epicentre of the house pack and at the foot of the bed is George, who is content with being just close enough to Chris--- but happy, in that inimitable Scottish Terrier, "I am ever so slightly aloof" kind of way

Only Albert and I are awake. 

He remains on sentry duty at the bedroom window, and is scanning the field and lane for interesting nocturnal activity. I know that something is around because he is still and alert and is obviously watching something moving around in the frost. I suspect it is a fox or perhaps a badger because the Guinea fowl are muttering to themselves like worried pensioners. The threat however remains at the field borders at present, I can always tell that if their grumbling is subdued.

I get up and get the sleepy dogs walked, we will all go back to bed for a short while when we return. But before we do, I take my trusty wind up torch and went to check on the coops, just in case a predator was about.

Hearing me crunch in the severe frost the geese "chunner" their own kind of warning. There is a small window in the goose house and I can just make out a couple of heads popping up to see what is going on........ the "chunners" subside as they recognise me. A similar low chatter comes from the duck house, but it is more a squabble about  best positions rather than one of anxiety and from the nearest hen house, one of the usually silent hens allows herself a brief and rather musical little "cluck" of concern  before going back to sleep.

When it is dark, hens for the most part are truly useless creatures.

It was badgers that Albert had seen from the bedroom window, In the moon light I can  just make out a large dark grey arse by the pond, shuffling homewards before first light, They won't be a threat again tonight

Even in the dark, everything has an order and a pace  of it's own.

Constants

What is that phrase about death and taxes? It's something like..what is life's constants? ..the answer being death and taxes.....well it's near enough.......

This morning I have been thinking about constants........

After what was hailed as the coldest night of the year, I walked out onto the field as I do every morning and was greeted by the guinea fowl legging it over the rock hard ground, all desperate for their breakfast of mixed corn.

The guinea fowl are just three of my constants.

Come rain, come shine, come everything, every morning Alf, Hughie and Ivy will be there chattering away like little clockwork toys as they scuttle neurotically back and forth as though they are stuck on a video player's fast forward.

And every evening, by force of habit, I will always check on their roosting positions in the Churchyard trees, counting their silhouettes...one...two....three...as they settle down against the sky . 

Apart from is twice daily contact, our paths rarely cross during the day, for these three odd little birds will be off foraging  but like anything in anyone's life that is taken for granted, if by any chance they don't turn up in the stillness of the early morning,one day, I am sure,I would be quite heartbroken.

Alf

A programme I watched on television last night gave me nightmares this morning which have probably caused these melancholy thoughts about constants and death first thing. Death Unexpected, a documentary on the BBC last night was a fascinating look at the work of London coroner Alison Thompson in a typical week that saw her and her team cope with the constant puzzle of suicide, murder and, sudden death  .

With typical British understatement , the mechanics of the coroner's job were tastefully all left "off screen" for the most part, and it was left to the articulate and rather glam Mz Thompson to explain her role to camera, which she did eloquently and with some passion.

Coroner Thompson

On reflection perhaps watching a documentary like Death Unexpected was not really a good idea,for I dreamt about death for what seemed like an absolute age overnight.

In my last dream, I found myself emptying the car of bags of layers pellets. As I looked back at the cottage I saw my brother standing on a ladder painting the gable end.

"make sure you don't fall" I called out and without saying anything he just stuck up his thumb in way of an answer

A fairly innocuous dream, you may think, but it has unsettled me somewhat...

I'm off to clean the church

200 Books

It was our Flower Show Meeting last night.

The meeting was just a short one really as  the schedule for the day and all other necessary "to dos" have already been finalised and sorted but it is always rather fun to meet up around auntie Glad's kitchen table with tea, scones and chew the fat so to speak.

This year's Flower Show will be the village's 40th. 

The proceeds of last year's show will go towards re stocking the Churchyard with native saplings (I have yet to sort this out) and last night we have agreed to help out the newly formed Village Jubilee committee this year with a donation  to support their plans for a village gala in June. 

It was lovely to be in a position to boost a new Trelawnyd venture, especially one that celebrates the ideas of people that are not the " usual suspects" in village affairs. I have promised to big up the new committee's itinerary as soon as it is made "Public"

After Auntie Glad dished out the tea and scones, Irene our Treasurer told us all about her up and coming cruise holiday then showed us the newly printed certificate for first and second place entries as well as the 600 odd raffle tickets we all need to sell before and on the day itself.

92 year old Gladys asked for her portion of tickets there and then explaining that  she wanted to get organised with her sales!"

"How many books do you want?" Sylvia the show Secretary asked

 "Oh my usual 200!" Gladys said cheerfully, scooping them all up in her arms

And you know what? she'll sell every bloody  one of them!

no not our comittee... but it could be!!!!!!!!!


For those that are interested
The 2012 Schedule for the Flower Show can be seen
here
http://trelawnydflowershow.blogspot.com/

A Baby Elephant In The Room

Love me love me

Mabel has not really ingratiated herself with Chris.

Some of this stems from the fact that he is, in fact, a terrier fan, pure and simple.

But most of the time it is Mabel's slightly neurotic and rambunctious behaviours that leaves him shaking his head with a certain amount of resignation.

Terriers are quick, light footed and needy. They demand cuddles like well intentioned babies, and have a gentleness about them which everyone seems to enjoy.

Mabel on the other hand is overactive, totally uncoordinated and incredibly clumsy....she craves physical contact but cannot quite rein in the heavy breathing hysterics that always accompanies being made a fuss of...and 25 kilos of paw waving bulldog is a lot cope with sometimes in a cottage the size of a postage stamp.

It can be a little bit like being molested by a constantly bouncing fur covered fridge freezer.

Not easy when you are not in the mood for it!

Mabel requires consistency and firm handling, to control her desperate need for affection, and she needs a calm structured approach to deal with her nervousness, which , I think it the root of her excitable behaviour........we have not quite got there as yet, but we are close, and I have to smile to myself, for as I am typing this blog entry at the kitchen table, I can see her watching my every move with her big brown sad eyes never leaving my face, just waiting for that moment she can gallop forward like a steam train for a cuddle

*********************************************************************************

Weight Watchers weigh in this morning 14 stone 13lbs

Total weight loss since 2nd Jan 1 stone 1lb

Weight loss last week 1 lb......(a surprising result given those homemade sausages!!!)

All Together Now

I have just re read my previous post

so I ask all readers to stand up! come on stand up!

and  in a theatrically girly voice everyone throw their hands out wide and   repeat after me loudly"

"out with Anger!"

Now s-l-o-w-l-y draw back your hands back to your bosoms

and say breathlessly

"In with love"

There!!! do you feel better now?

 

Thought not!

Oh don't you just love irony!

To Whom it may concern

The downside of blogging it that you always seem to be upsetting someone with something at sometime.

Now, to me, there are two things that you can do if "one is upset"......

You can have a lively and somewhat infantile debate ( like we often do c/o Tom Stephenson)

or you can just stop reading that particular blog........simples!

Last night I received a somewhat abusive post comment relating to the culling of the pigs. It was graphic, somewhat rude and threatening, and instead of embarking on any discussion with it's author I deleted the comment immediately banning any further comments from someone, who was so strangely....well....... aggressive.

Since we took the decision for the pigs to "go" I have found it interesting that I have lost five followers, perhaps it is just coincidence, after all Blogger seems to be playing up quite a bit recently, but if my deserters are a result of 85 kilos of sausage lying on our kitchen table, so be it........you can't please everyone !

The anonymity of blog land can give some bloggers a certain carte blanche to vent their spleen in ways that they couldn't possibly do (or dare to) in real life ( and before you go off on one Thomas, I am not talking about you...... I know you, in your real life can be a real stinker face to face so to speak!)..it has happened to me a few times with characters that I once thought stable (oh how wrong was I?).... That is  the problem with blogland , sometimes lunatics can slip under your well homed  nutter radar!

I remember that one affable old duffer that I follow with some loyalty- the bouncy old soul that is (Yorkshire Pudding) - well he had a awful time once, with one particularly nasty character who left a whole novel of abuse on his blog.

As a regular reader, I remember finding the whole thing unnecessary and all rather upsetting...

If you want a fun debate... great!

,If you disagree with an idea, a philosophy or an opinion....do so respectfully

and if you strongly disagree with anything you read or see...

then..........just fuck off

Life's too short!

In Trutina from Carmina Burana - Carl Orff.

lovely........lovely.........lovely

Pork, Pork and More Pork

"look at my meat!"

  

 Well I feel a little like a serial killer who has been spent a busy afternoon packing bits of my victims up in a whole plethora of plastic bags......yes number 12 and number 21 were picked up today from the butcher's shop in six large boxes and were carefully re bagged ready for a hastily bought chest freezer, which has been set up in the back shed.

85 kilos of sausages, massive leg joints, a ton of belly pork and chops galore ( or should that be gore) have covered every surface in the kitchen. and I was grateful that amid the carnage there were only four recognisable trotters to cope with and not a whole pigs head. ( the butcher's don't generally give you the heads unless requested)

Looking at the prices of meat at our local butchers, I think that we have well over £1,000 quids worth ready to be eaten!..... Bless number 12 and 21 have done us proud.

I dropped some goodies off for the RFWF, and to Eirlys and John who helped me so well last Tuesday and then just had time to leave a chop with Auntie Glads for her tea!

85 kilos of sausage!!!

We have just had sausages for our tea!!! bloody lovely!!!!